'Sophisticated' Android malware hits phones
1–10 of 19 posts
Re: 'Sophisticated' Android malware hits phones
#2Maybe it's the jet lag talking but it seems like the tenses are all messed up in this article, for example "was now" is used in places where they're speaking about the present status of the malware.
Re: 'Sophisticated' Android malware hits phones
#3Are there any current methods of detection? What about this warning of "any app that required a security update to be installed before it was run" - what is that going to look like? A standard Android warning/request dialog?
Re: 'Sophisticated' Android malware hits phones
#4Hmm.
> Mobile security firm Lookout said the bug, called NotCompatible, was the most sophisticated it had seen.
> The cyberthieves behind the bug had recently rewritten its core code to make it harder to defeat, it said.
> The bug first appeared in 2012 and was now on its third iteration
Am I misinterpreting this, or is it common to refer to malware as "bug"? What a nice source of confusion for a programmer! It almost seems as if it is done on purpose to coin a new term.
Re: 'Sophisticated' Android malware hits phones
#5https://blog.lookout.com/blog/2014/11/19/notcompatible/
This blogpost delivers both technical details AND better writing.
Re: 'Sophisticated' Android malware hits phones
#6Are there any current methods of detection? What about this warning of "any app that required a security update to be installed before it was run" - what is that going to look like? A standard Android warning/request dialog?
> A standard Android warning/request dialog?
No, Android does not have standard dialog that requests do make security updates.
There is a notification/activity, that alerts you, when system update is available.
In some rare cases, there may be messagebox telling you, that Google Play Services need to be updated (and after tapping OK, it opens Play Store for you).
What the article describes, is more like drive-by-installation malware. You need to enable unknown app sources (and acknowledge the warning dialog), as well as verify apps. Then you need to download apk and install it.
To make comparison with PCs, it is similar to some random web site persuading you to download random binary and run it as root.
Re: 'Sophisticated' Android malware hits phones
#7Hmm. > Mobile security firm Lookout said the bug, called NotCompatible, was the most sophisticated it had seen. > The cyberthieves behind the bug had recently rewritten its core code to make it harder to defeat, it said. > The bug first appeared in 2012 and was now on its third iteration Am I misinterpreting this, or is it common to refer to malware as "bug"? What a nice source of confusion for a programmer! It almos…
I assume they're using the other definition of the term "bug" as in "you caught the cold bug." It might be local (UK specific) slang though that catching a "bug" is akin to catching a disease or virus.
Re: 'Sophisticated' Android malware hits phones
#8Hmm. > Mobile security firm Lookout said the bug, called NotCompatible, was the most sophisticated it had seen. > The cyberthieves behind the bug had recently rewritten its core code to make it harder to defeat, it said. > The bug first appeared in 2012 and was now on its third iteration Am I misinterpreting this, or is it common to refer to malware as "bug"? What a nice source of confusion for a programmer! It almos…
Common usage of the word "bug" to describe a software flaw. Non-technical writing aimed at a non-technical audience.
Re: 'Sophisticated' Android malware hits phones
#9Hmm. > Mobile security firm Lookout said the bug, called NotCompatible, was the most sophisticated it had seen. > The cyberthieves behind the bug had recently rewritten its core code to make it harder to defeat, it said. > The bug first appeared in 2012 and was now on its third iteration Am I misinterpreting this, or is it common to refer to malware as "bug"? What a nice source of confusion for a programmer! It almos…
I assume they're using the other definition of the term "bug" as in "you caught the cold bug." It might be local (UK specific) slang though that catching a "bug" is akin to catching a disease or virus.
Never heard of that.
Regards,
A Brit.
Re: 'Sophisticated' Android malware hits phones
#10Not sure if it's related, but when browsing sites on my phone I have noticed a lot of ads on websites that redirect you either to a page with an Android download on it, or to a specific game in the Play store. You leave the page you wanted to look at entirely.